AUSTIN TX -- Clipperblog is through examining the tea leaves. I’m willing to ascribe Brand’s decision to sign with Philadelphia as a confluence of factors – all of which are now in plain view. Maybe it’s incuriosity or boredom – or the fact that Clipperblog is on vacation away from the hermetically sealed Los Angeles media chamber -- but divvying up blame in its appropriate servings seems silly.

Whether Brand’s decision was something the Clippers could control is debatable. But they fully control how they’ll address Brand’s departure. The Clippers have a sizable chunk of cap space and how they use it will very much foretell the team’s health going forward.

Trading for Zach Randolph and the three years and $48M remaining on his contract seems absurd. If the Clippers could unload Tim Thomas in the exchange, then the deal goes from absurd to merely problematic. When you’re of the opinion that “winning” and “chemistry” are overrated attributes in producing victories, it’s always difficult dismissing a player on the basis of those deficiencies. But having watched Randolph’s formidable offensive game in the post, I feel confident in suggesting that Zach Randolph, while a sick talent, would be detrimental to the organization’s near and long-term future. Imagine Brand’s most glaring weakness [passing out of the double-team], and throw an exponent on it. But that flaw in Randolph’s game can even begin to describe his apathy on the defensive end. Some players can’t play defense – though for no lack of effort (Sam Cassell). Some players merely can’t be bothered (Stephon Marbury). Randolph seems to wed a lack of skill and effort.

A much more interesting course – one reported by Marc Stein in his weekend chatter roundup – is the Clippers acquiring Rasheed Wallace (1 year, $13.68M remaining). It wouldn’t be a long-term fix, but that’s precisely the point. It would address the Clippers’ hole at PF and would do it without hampering their cap flexibility. Wallace is a smart inside-out player who provides stellar help defense. A Davis/Wallace S/R could be potent – provided Wallace wanted to be the Clippers.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

Good news!

We have launched a new ClipperBlog.com site! You are currently on our old system & are viewing an archived page. We will continue to keep all 670 posts from our first 3 years on this archive site. Soon we will be closing the comments for each of these older posts.

I concur Kevin, Randolphs contract is awful given his extreme shortcomings on the defensive end, which would put him squarely in MDs doghouse. It's not a good idea bringing him here. If Sofos not too fat to play in the NBA, the Clips need to send the envoy to get him here ASAP to sure up the front court for 20-25 mins a game. And if he's still not in shape, then they should get him here anyway and get him with a nutritionist and ready to play. He was a beast in the world championships 2 years ago for the Greece team that schooled the US dream team. Point being that Sofo would come much cheaper than anone being discussed currently, just get him here and in shape. Then tell him his first order of business is dunk on EB and follow it with a body slam

To get Rasheed there would have to be a 3rd team involved that sent a player to Detroit -- we don't have what Dumars wants on our roster and he's not going to give up Rasheed just to clear cap space. Detroit currently has $60.65 committed for 08-09.

The other one year rental player that I find even more intriguing than Rasheed is Shawn Marion. He's got 1 year left at $17.2. To make it work we'd have to give back TT's contract and a draft pick. As with the Rasheed scenario, if it doesn't work out with Marion we let him walk next summer and we still have cap flexibility. Plus, a move for Marion would pretty much guarantee that MD is going to a running style. If it works, it seems like it would be easier to retain Marion than Rasheed.

Okafor would be a mistake. Of the restricted guys, Smith is the best choice.

I am looking forward to totally different team this time around. This new team will make Clipper fans feel better about NOT having Brand.

Couple of thoughts: Baron Davis, Gordon & Thornton are naturally aggressive players who command double teams. Until last season we had only Brand. This will change the look of the team. Add Chris Kaman into this mix . He can't be stopped with single cover.

Shawn Marion: Safe bet.
Josh Smith: GREAT!
Wallace: Can tolerate if he can shut his mouth.
RANDOLPH: If Knicks don't want him; we don't want him either.
OKAFOR: Don't know.
NONE OF THE ABOVE: We'll roll for a season by giving our rookies plenty of time & see anyone of these will turn out as STARS of Clipper future.

Looks like the Randolph trade is dead. Indications are that the Clips would only offer a 2nd round draft pick but the Knics wanted a first.
Good for the Clips for at least trying to see if anyone was unloading contracts for nothing. Sounds like the Clips are taking their time trying to decide what's best. I expect to see an offer for Josh Smith.
I don't see Shawn Marion coming unless he's willing to sign an extension.

Why would the Clips not take Marion for one year? If the team plays well and Thorton, Kaman show growth, it's just more incentive to use that slot for someone else on the free agent market if they want to.

I doubt the Heat would give Marion up for nothing. If NY was unwilling to unload Randolph for nothing, Miami will want much more for Marion. I don't believe we have anyone they want. And would you want to give up a first round pick for a player who's probably only going to be here for a year?

I don't think Wallace would work since he hates Dunleavy, as someone else noted. Everytime we play the Pistons and lose (I can't remember the last time we won), you would see Sheed yelling at Dunleavy. If the restricteds don't pan out, I still think we should go after Wilcox of Villanueva.

Id put more effort into Emeka Okafor. Of all the players he has the most ability to solidify the paint. I like Z-Bo, but chemistry issues abound, and the fact remains hes far more concerned with scoring his average than winning a game, at least thats the way it looked last season.

Theres also that rumor he might have been involved with killing someone in Portland last year. Sure Z-Bo is talented, but he doesnt have the attitude of a winner. Hes a thug that plays 4, the way HE wants to play 4. He's going to be a perpetual nightmare for any coach.

In ways it would be nice to see Dunleavy lose even more hair by trading for him and trying to coach him. But honestly, I think the Clippers as an organization will get more schooling from signing Z-Bo than he'll ever get playing for Dumbleavy.

Since the Heat signed Beasley, theres a big chance they want to keep Marion. 2, 3, 4 are all locked up. Miami's just gotta plug in a 1 and 5. The only time Marion was ever mentioned in a deal was to secure Elton Brand and since hes out of any possible equation id assume the chances Miami trades him become slimmer and slimmer. I see Miami trading for Luke Ridnour or another "couldve been" point guard before trading Marion off their team. If Mourning comes back ok they should be ready to go for the most part.

The teams looking to trade right now are the Knicks, Pistons, and Memphis. Id imagine Charlotte is in that mix too because of Okafor's "intention to sign with Charlotte" -- words we as Clipper fans are all too familiar with.

Notice the Knicks said that they dont want contracts that extend past LeBrons free agency? It's become the hugest issue around which any of these trades are being taked about. Teams are asking, who can you give me that will expire at that time or whos contract doesnt extend past then? If a trade gets done with the Clippers, its not because another team wanted our talent, they just want the cap relief going into the summer of 2010 and if they can get rid of a headcase player in the process, thats viewed as a net bonus for their organization.

So thats why Zach Randolph or Rasheed Wallace could be a Clipper. Heck Ron Artest could end up here as well. In fact take any headcase you can think of and they are probably involved in a trade rumour to come to LA.

Of them all, I'd prefer Wallace the most. Even though hes old, hes got heart and he knows how to win and hes matured past his wild youth. Any other names floating in the trade ether are damaged goods and not something you go for when trying to rebuild a winning franchise.

So make it between Okafor and Wallace. Dont even think of Z-Bo. And if youre going to talk to Detroit, get a prospect. Joe Dumars knows how to pick players.

Miami might want to get rid of Marion if they already decided they aren't going to resign him after the season and want to get something more for him than just the cap space they'd get for letting him walk next summer. Marion's salary is too big to take on without giving back TT's contract, but Miami still comes out ahead -- Marion is due $17.2 for 08-09 while TT gets $12.5 combined for 08-09 and 09-10. So, for a player that they might not want after this season anyway, Miami would get an immediate $11 in cap space (they're at $58.1 currently), TT and likely a lottery protected draft pick. This helps them for the important 2010 offseason when Wade's ETO comes up and give them room to chase another big free agent to play with Wade and Beasley.

Of course, this is all on the assumption they aren't going to resign Marion, which seems reasonable given the 2010 situation.

I still don't see anyone with a one year contract coming. Why would we give up a first round pick, even a protected one, for someone who's only going to be here a year? It's not like adding Sheed or Marion would propell the Clips to championship contender status. I think it'd be better to just run and gun with what you've got and hope for the best.

How stupid are the Knicks? I thought they had turned the page and were going to clean house. They get the perfect opportunity to dump a bloated contract of a guy nobody wants - not even them - who is an awful character to boot on the hapless Clippers and they blow it by not taking the second round pick. We have a guy who is not worth his contract, and that is ignoring everything off the court and just looking at what he can do on the court, and who is poison to coaches, teammates and the world at large (he's a thug) and the Knicks don't jump at the chance to dump his contract? Crazy. The Knicks will come to regret that one. You expect as much from the Clippers given the panic reaction that ensued the Brand backstabbing.

I say save the money and lower the ticket prices. Wait until something worthwhile is available, like everyone else is trying to do.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think there is a lot of value in Randolph's contract. I understand why the Clips wouldn't want to throw in a #1 pick to sweeten the deal.

But if the question is simply whether or not you guys would assume Randolph's $48m/3yrs, I think you go for it in a flash.

There's obviously a lot of risk there, but Okefor is a stiff and you might not get him anyway, and you won't get Josh Smith.

Randolph can demand a double down low, seems like a decent kid from a fucked-up background, is still only 26 with room for improvement, has never played with as good a PG as Baron, and gives you folks a shot at actually being elite in the mid-term.

Well, I think we've just seen evidence that both the Clippers and Knicks do think he's worth his contract... "

I rest my case. Thanks.

"Seems like a decent kid from a ... background."

If he's a decent kid, what do you call Corey Maggette or Tim Duncan? Are they ready to accept Sainthood from the Pope?

Wow! Those are some standards to aspire to. What is decent about him. Name one single thing.

It figures you would be a Nuggets fan, the second most dysfunctional team in the NBA. I'll bet you have a bunch of tat's and listen to gangsta rap too. I take youi for about 16 years old. Where's the Brooklyn Bridge? Bet you don't know.

Denver Nuggets! Hahahahah. Tark light. Don't come on this site acting like you are some Clipper fan encouraging the signing of this arrest warrant waiting to happen when you are a fan of a rival.

TT is signed for $6.05 this year and $6.45 next year, so $12.5 total remaining on his deal. I was using the total to show that Miami still pays less for 2 years of TT than for the one year of Marion. Sorry if that was unclear.

Guys, you have blinders on if you don't think Randolph is a good fit here in LA. There seem to be three arguments against bringing him on:

1) Plays no defense.

If he was a perfect player, he wouldn't be available, and certainly not for TT and a first round pick. He's a great scorer, a great rebounder, and frankly, I don't think he can be condemned for his defense. Defense is a team aspect and your interior D is only as good as the guards are at stopping penetration. Kaman can block shots (unlike Curry!) which makes Randolph's shot-blocking moot. People who say he sucks because he plays no D are just trying to find reasons to hate him.

2) he is overpaid.

No, he's not. He makes what 20-10 guys make in this league. He makes what Brand is making. He produces like Brand. Most NBA players on max contracts have their deals back loaded (you underpay when they are young and over pay when they are old). This is not the case with Randolph. When he makes $17 million 3 years from now he will be just as good as he was 3 years ago when he got his contract. He'll only be 28, in his prime, and still producing 20-10. He is great value for the money.

3) He is not a person you want to have over for tea.

Okay, fine. I don't want him over for tea either, and if he killed a guy in Portland just to watch him die, then he probably should be in jail instead of on the Clippers. But he's probably nothing worse than a dick with a gun and a lot of money (not too different from your run of the mill pro athlete). Plus, do you guys know anything about Rasheed's personality. His track record is way worse than Randolph's.

In all, Randolph is probably not a great person to put on the ticket with Obama, but a very strong candidate at power forward for the Clippers.

I hope we come to our senses and commit to winning this season. We have Baron. Now bring in Randolph and book us into the Western Conference Finals (I can taste it!!)!

Okafor cant play power forward. If I were the clippers I wouldnt offer any more for zbo. 2nd round pick seems about right. Josh Smith i think is the best player we could land at this point. The worst thing we could do is sit on the money. I also hear the jazz might be willing to trade boozer because he might pull another boozer next year, given this brand and boozer shit, i say no.. I also hear fake AI amd dengs name. I think deng isnt going anywhere, as for AI, no. Hes not even half a power forward. Hopefully the clippers jack his price up for the sixers to pay though.

If we could simply choose the player that best fits our teams needs, and they are obligated to abide by our wishes and don Clipper jerseys, then they are all compelling options.

Two of the above named are restricted free agents who have little control over their destiny. Even if Okafor and Smith have always dreamed of playing at Staples Center for a team not called the Lakers, they still wouldn't be able to simple join the Clippers this season (they'd have to wait until 2009). I'm fine with waiting until they are both officially off the table before filling the PF void, but I see a very slim chance of them coming here, and if they do it will be for maximum, EB type money, which could prove disasterous.

Wallace and Marion and David Lee and Randolph are all under contract with other teams and so we would need to give up assets to acquire them. Other than silly internet rumors, there doesn't seem to be an indication that Lee is available, and if he is, I don't think we have the assets to get him (without giving up Al, or substantial future picks/prospects).

Wallace and Marion, though both intriguing, also carry with them the fact that both the Pistons and the Heat are competitive teams this year. Any deal that brings in those guys will cost us!

The Knicks on the other hand, are not a contender. They are looking 2 or 3 years down the road. That is why Randolph doesn't cost us very much. A future pick seems to be enough. Make it an unprotected 1st rounder and they will even take Tim Thomas off our hands! Teams want to be under the cap in 2010 to bid on LeBron. We don't have to worry about that because LeBron isn't going to choose to play for us. If anything, he'd pull a Kobe and use us to jack the price up for the team he really wants to play for. Since we don't have to be bound by LeBron fantasy (he's probably going to end up staying with the Cavs well into the 2020s!), we have the luxury of being able to benefit from other team's poor management. We can actually get an all-NBA caliber player for next to nothing!

Since it's Sterling's money and not ours it really doesn't cost much at all. And, with Thomas' deal off the books, the cost to ownership is not even all that much.

As for doing nothing and playing Jordan 35 minutes a game- that is a terrible idea. He rode the bench on his college team. He's a 2nd round roster filler.

TT, Mobley, Jordan, unprotected 1st round pick for Randolph (and if we can get a young guy like Balkman or Mardy Collins that would be cool too). That is a great trade. But I won't be greedy. I'll be very, very, very happy just to bring in Randolph.

Forget about Deng. The Bulls aren't letting him walk. They wouldn't trade him for Kobe. They are not letting him walk for nothing a year later.

Igudala doesn't play power forward. Besides, the only reason we want him is to avenge the theft of EB.

If we really want a SG, I think Jamal Crawford could be had in a mega deal with the Knicks. Crawford and Davis at the guards would be killer. I'd feel guilty stealing the two best Knicks (other than Lee), but that would be two 20 pt scorers playing with Baron and Al. If the Knicks are really rebuilding for 2010, that would be larceny if we got Crawford thrown in. Give the Knicks all our draft picks for the next three years and ride this team to the finals!!

Mobley and Thomas are the junk that make US want to do the deal, not them. They will waive both TT and Mobley (allowing Cat to rejoin us!)

There is no free lunch. If we want to contend next season we need to offer something. Jordan is essentially no cost at all. It's like offering next years 2nd rounder (he WAS a 2nd rounder!).

With Zach Randolph on the team, our 1st rounder next year will be in the mid 20s. The chances of it being for an impact player are very small. It is a low risk, high reward trade.

I'd love it if we were fishing in a barrel, but Donnie Walsh is not a stupid GM. He's in sell mode, but not give away 20-10 guys for free mode. No one is. If 20-10 guys grew on trees EB wouldn't have been so coveted.

Clipper fans who want to win: get real, get active, and get behind Zach Randolph!

Uhmm, well, I guess it's because it will feel really good to root for a winner for a change. I like feeling good.

I mean, I'm used to losing all the time, and it's somewhat endearing to always be on the short end, but signing Baron made it seem like we were actually going to be really good this year. Then Elton screwed us and my heart sank. But my excitement to still have a winning team didn't because EB is replaceable.

It's not like I'm saying "let's do steroids" or "let's pay off refs". I don't want to win THAT bad.

Zach Randolph is simply not the antichrist (David Falk is!). At worst he's an asshole. Probably not that likable, but not evil (at least no more evil than most of these other NBAers). I think the argument against bringing in Randolph has to be a basketball one and not a moral judgement of his character one. Basketball wise, he is an excellent option and I hope we get him.

93Clips you make some excellent points, but if you think Mobley would rejoin the clips you're crazy. If he's taking the minimum he's going somewhere he can win a ring. Shoot, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd sign with the LAKERS instead.

So Wallace is a better quality guy than Zach??? Zach is a nut, Wallace is a nut, but one is much younger and will give you 20-10 when he's out on bail. The other is old and will get kicked out about 5-10 games a season. I say you have to go with Zach if those are the two choices.

I think we've diced this Randolph situation about as much as we can...

Now that the front office has had some time to digest this whole Brand situation, the chances of them making a knee jerk reaction are reducing with each passing day.

Most people realize that we got a steal by drafting Jordan in the 2nd round, so I doubt he is moved. I liked what I heard from espn or somewhere about the idea of scrimmaging Jordan against Kaman in practices. Chemistry cannot be overlooked, and right now I see it as one of our strengths.

If nothing reasonable presents itself in this years free agent market from here on out, we've just got to be ok with what we've got. At least we don't have any 10-day contract type players threatening to start or even back up at any position right now.

Reasonable answer 93Clip. We will have to agree to disagree on the merits of separating basketball judgments from moral judgments. I do think that Randolph is 3 standard deviations away from the norm in the direction of miscreant, but I've said my piece and you've said yours. I would guess that most people are in your camp on this. After all, the NBA seems to still be able to sell tickets. And I have seen no evidence that a team's "thug quotient" leds to reduced ticket sales. After all, I doubt anyone could compete with the Denver Nuggets on that metric and they still sell tickets.

93Clips, you are absolutely deluded if you think the addition of Zach Randolph will propel the Clippers to the Western Conference finals.

While your points are not completely off, the proof is in the product. There is a reason that the Blazers wanted to get rid of him a year ago and the Knicks want to get rid of him now. A year ago, Knicks fans were excited and look at them now. Even after the Brand situation, this would only make all other fan bases look down on us even more.

I love the Clippers, but even I know that the addition of Randolph won't give us 50 wins. We've dissected this point way more then we needed to.

Miami can still trade Marion, but if im pat riley im letting him open the season and putting the product on the floor and seeing what it does. If Miami's record sucks near the trade deadline hell definitely be on the block.

I say fire the coach, save the money youd spend on mediocre free agents and look towards February for anything franchise-changing. If we have sizable cap left around the trade deadline and movement needs to happen we'll be sitting on a lottery bound draft pick, the cap space and some highly valuable expired contracts to make a 3 team deal a reality. I say hold the cards until the players become desperate and have a higher threshold for pain in order to "win now".

All this comparing Randolph to Sheed talk is way off base. The main difference is this. Rasheed's teammates love him. By all accounts, he's one of the smartest and best teammates anyone can ask for.

Randolph on the other hand gets in spats with teammates constantly. Add in to the previously presented facts about his lack of defensive skills, his downright refusal to pass out of the post, and a mostly terrible attitude and I don't see what is so attractive.

He's a bad teammate, and the thought of him and TT playing the 4 spot for the Clippers makes me sick to my stomach.

If we were a team with an established group of veterans, he MIGHT be worth the risk, just because he is a talented scorer.

But this is a relatively young team. You really want ZACH FREAKING RANDOLPH mentoring these guys?

We have a group of really good guys, led by Cat, Kaman, and now BD. I think we can afford to take a chance on a Volatile personality on the presumption that our leaders will steer him in the right direction. Is Zach the right guy? Probally not, if we could front-load the crap out of J smiths contract and steal him away from atlanta, I think that would be the best scenario. I think most of us are very conflicted, we want to win right now, but we dont want to take on any bad contracts in the process. Management has some tough decisions to make within the next couple of weeks but at least it will be exciting

You guys just got camby for a 2nd rd pick...solid pick up. i dont really see him working with kaman so well but they both have good trade value for another slasher or true PF. i dont ever see the both of them ever playing a game together but SOLID move.